


The Mimid

by fanfoolishness (LoonyLupin), LoonyLupin



Series: Starshine Over Beach City: Moments from Steven Universe [22]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Steven Universe Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-22 09:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22747774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoonyLupin/pseuds/fanfoolishness, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoonyLupin/pseuds/LoonyLupin
Summary: Steven deals with another reminder of Rose Quartz.
Relationships: Rose Quartz & Steven Universe
Series: Starshine Over Beach City: Moments from Steven Universe [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1523993
Comments: 4
Kudos: 109





	The Mimid

The wind plays in his hair as he approaches, sharp breezes buffeting thick curls. Steven squints against the irritation, shaking his head.

He pauses for a moment at the fence that Pearl erected years ago, after the caution tape proved an ineffective barrier. Moss chokes the chainlink, and Steven frowns.

Another mess to clean up.

This is the first year he’s taken this on by himself. The Gems always used to come out here with him in the spring, after what happened with Lars, Buck, Jenny and Sour Cream. He remembers pink gardening gloves, pizza waiting for afterwards, laughter as they gathered up the creeping moss. He remembers the hike together to the top of the hill, bags of moss in tow, watching the pink flowers bloom and rain.

He didn’t even tell them he was coming out here today. It’s fine. It’s – whatever.

He reaches into his pocket for his headphones, but his hand holds at his side. Birdsong twitters from the stubby trees around the quarry’s entrance, little songbirds singing through the wind. Here a cheery, burbling song; there a short _chep, chep, chep_ ; soft _mew, mews_ low to the ground. He leaves the headphones in his pocket, taking a deep breath.

He closes his eyes. Tries to concentrate. He knows a few of their voices, lessons from trips with Uncle Andy sticking in his head. _Gray catbird_ comes to mind, and one pops up from the shrub beside him, cocking its head at him curiously.

Steven tries to recall some of Uncle Andy’s bird facts. _These are real neat! Common but that don’t mean anything. They can sing like a mockingbird when they want to_. _Anything they want, kid._

Steven holds still. These birds are bolder than some, but any animal would startle if he moved at this distance. The catbird searches for food two feet from his sandal, searching the creeping moss and coming up empty. 

The moss rustles beneath the bird’s scaled feet. The small movements of the moss, flowing in waves of undulating green, are soft and threatening. The bird jumps to another patch of moss. It tries and fails again to find any food.

“Sorry,” Steven mutters under his breath. “It doesn’t feed anybody.” He considers, noting how the moss spreads from the quarry lake to the fence, blanketing everything in its path. “It just does what it wants.”

_Like her._

The bird takes wing, searching for somewhere safer, somewhere better. He wonders how many birds the moss has claimed; how many animals that tried to make their home here and failed; how many other plants were kept from blooming. Why? Because she wanted _flowers_? 

He reaches for his headphones, shoves them into his ears. He’ll never know the answer. He slings the bag from his shoulders down to his feet and pulls out pink gardening gloves, shears, plastic bags.

Steven gets to work.

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I headcanon Uncle Andy as an expert birder, given his wide travel experience and love of aviation. Andy doesn't strike me as the type of person who'd be good sitting and having coffee with Steven, but I could see him being more comfortable *doing* something and showing Steven things, like birds. Also I'm an avid birder so, y'know, excuse to work in one of my hobbies.
> 
> The birds Steven hears in the bushes are in order an American Robin, a Yellow-Rumped Warbler, and a Gray Catbird, which are all found in Delaware (Delmarva). Gray Catbirds belong to the mimid family and are skilled mimickers of other songs.


End file.
